I have been walking through Isaiah since September 1st and I have to tell you loudly, I LOVE THIS BOOK!
As my love for Jesus goes deeper, I think I am really beginning to embrace Isaiah in a whole different way. I used to read it like, wow, God is angry and tough. Now my attitude is, He really loves me deeply and desires me above all things. God has every right to be angry and tough, I mean He created us...to love us...to walk with us...to be with us...and we spit in His face and go after idols...i would be angry too. But please listen to this, it is not His anger that drives Him in Isaiah, no, it is His deep love for us. Did you hear that? HIS DEEP AFFECTIONATE LOVE that drives Him to us. And I'll prove it.
Check out Isaiah 54:8-9:
"In a burst of anger I turned my face away for a little while (as He should actually do this all the time because of my constant sinning against Him) but with everlasting love (which means forever and can't be altered by anything) I will have compassion on you." (Why? Because He understands us or as the writer of Hebrews says, He is able to sympathize with us...thank you Jesus). He has compassion on us. He has compassion on you. He has every right to utterly destroy me today...right now, but instead His love drives Him and He has compassion for me. WOW! But hold on...
"Just as I swore in the time of Noah that I would never again let a flood cover the earth, so now I swear (THE LORD SAYS - I SWEAR...you know what that means, right?) NOW I SWEAR that i will never again be angry and punish you." What? Did I read that right? That is a big thing to swear Lord...are you sure that is what you mean? YEP! Why?
JESUS! By the way, this was written 700 years before Jesus but the Lord already had an answer to my sins. JESUS.
Go back one chapter to Isaiah 53:10 - "But the Lord was pleased (PLEASED) to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His Hands.
The anger that I deserve ran like blood down the hands of Jesus Christ thus fulfilling the promise that the Lord swore to in Isaiah 54. Isaiah 49:15 - "can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has bourne? But even if that were possible, I WOULD NOT FORGET YOU" and He hasn't. He has your name written on His Hands today and it gives Him great pleasure...there is no other kind of love like this my friends. Grab a hold of Jesus today...quickly for He grabbed you on the Cross! God's anger was satisfied in the Blood of Jesus...wow.
